Gear we go! Thousands expected to saddle-up for Cycle to Work day in Manchester

Prizes up for grabs for commuters who make the most journeys by bike in bid to get more people to ditch their cars

by Charlotte Cox

17:42, 3 Sep 2014Updated17:45, 3 Sep 2014

Commuters are being urged to get on their bikes and cycle to work(Image: Andy Lambert)

Transport bosses hope to get more commuters to cycle to work this month - by offering prizes for those who make the most bike journeys.

Masterminded by Transport for Greater Manchester, the four-week challenge is a spin-off of tomorrow's National Cycle to Work day, an event championed by Paralympic gold medal cyclist Dame Sarah Storey encouraging workers to ditch their usual mode of transport and cycle to work.

In Manchester, bosses have been urging their staff to get involved, including Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, which has around 2,000 workers.

National Cycle to Work Day is just one part of a month of activity, as TfGM launches the Better By Cycle challenge to encourage people to make more journeys by bike throughout September.

Taking place from until September 30, and open to everyone who lives and works in Greater Manchester, the challenge will reward people for making more cycling journeys, not how far or fast they cycle.

All cycle journeys logged online will count towards a personal total of ‘BikeMiles’, which can then be exchanged for offers and vouchers.

Weekly and overall prizes will also be up for grabs - with special awards for the top three work places that log the most cycle journeys on average during the challenge.

These include a folding bike, taster sessions at the Manchester Velodrome, and bike maintenance equipment.

Coun Chris Paul, TfGM Committee Member and Cycling Champion, said: “Cycling is a healthy, affordable and sustainable travel choice for everyone, so whether it’s taking your bike to work for a day, or taking part in the month-long Better By Cycle Challenge, we want people to give it a go.

“We’re aiming to change Greater Manchester’s travel culture and increase cycling from two per cent to 10 per cent of all journeys made over the next ten years. Initiatives like these are a great way to help us move closer to that target and get people on their bikes in a healthier, greener region.”

City has third-highest number of cycle commuters

As Manchester celebrates having the third-highest number of commuters on two wheels in the country, experts warn it still has a long way to go.

Currently, 741,000 people use a bike to get to work across England and Wales.

Of those, Greater Manchester has 25,161.

It follows Cambridgeshire, with 29,689 and Greater London with 155,000.

But with just three per cent of commuter journeys currently made by bike – there is still a long way to go to meet the target of 10 per cent by 2025.

The biggest challenges, say experts are improving the city’s infrastructure – and then convincing potential cyclists that bikes are a safe option.

Vincent Goodwin in the Manchester office of Sustrans – a charity dedicated to get more people cycling and walking - said: “It’s great news that more commuters are cycling in Manchester but there is still a long way to go before we can become a proper cycling city like Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

"There is some good work which has been done to mprove cycle provision, including more cycle routes and 20 mile zones, but for mass cycling to become ‘normal’ we need to build more cycle ways which link up schools, places of work and study, to provide safe and direct routes.”

Sustrans is also running a campaign dubbed Campaign for Safer Streets, which aims to get government to put funding aside for more safe routes between residential areas and schools.